Who We Are

Jane Rochmes

Current Position:

Assistant Professor of Sociology at Christopher Newport University

Jane Rochmes is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, VA. Jane was a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Stanford School of Education and Center for Education Policy Analysis from 2014 to 2017. She received her M.A. in Sociology and Ph.D. in Public Policy and Sociology from the University of Michigan (2014), where she was also a trainee in social demography at the Population Studies Center. She received her B.A. in Sociology from Rice University (2006). Jane’s research integrates interests in social context, stratification, and education. She is particularly focused on how aspects of schooling perpetuate or ameliorate racial and socioeconomic inequality. Through her affiliation with CEPA, Jane works closely with the Human Resources department in the San Francisco Unified School District to survey SFUSD educators to better understand their attitudes and experiences, and to analyze district recruitment, placement, and retention policies. A main project stemming from this work concerns educators’ attitudes about inequality and approaches to the achievement gap. This research builds on her dissertation, which used nationally representative data to examine beliefs among teachers of empowerment to overcome student disadvantages and the role of such beliefs in school success. Jane’s other research stemming from her partnership with SFUSD includes a study of educators’ economic anxiety and approaches to improving middle-income workers’ well-being in high cost urban areas. In other projects, Jane is examining race, class, and gender inequality in how college-educated applicants present themselves in job applications; how provision of preventive and physical health services at school relates to adolescents’ academic performance, especially for disadvantaged students; and the effects of attending a for-profit college versus other types of college attendance on degree receipt and labor market outcomes.